Luke 12
"And the Lord [Yeshua] said, 'Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, "My master is delayed in coming," and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat, drink, and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s wishes but did not get ready or act according to his wishes, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.'" - Luke 12:42-48
There are four categories of servants here. The first does what the master wants and is richly rewarded. The second is an imposter who beats the other slaves and gets drunk. He is cut down by the master and expelled from the house. The third servant knows what the master wants, but he doesn't do it. He receives a thrashing. The fourth servant doesn't know what his master wants. He receives a light beating.
It seems three categories of servants are believers. The second category seems to stand for those in the Christian community who are unbelievers and who take advantage of Jesus' absence to mistreat believers and live an ungodly lifestyle.
Father, I want to be a servant of the first category. I also want to be surrounded by servants of the first category. These are the disciple makers, those who are really serious about what Jesus desires and who carry out his desires faithfully.
Help me to be a disciple maker who gives members of Jesus' household their portion of food at the proper time. I take this to be the preaching and teaching of your word, Lord. Help me to stay focused on my preaching and teaching ministry. Remind me, too, of the principles of disciples making. Thank you that the Holy Spirit operates powerfully in the believers and disciples among us.
Please do something special in the reminder of this year. May all the churches in Dunedin who are devoted to the Lord Jesus and to Scripture grow exponentially. Teach me and my co-elders how to lead a growing church. Give us administrative excellence so that everything flows smoothly and efficiently. Help us to put simple systems and processes in place so that we can make more disciples and revitalise and plant more churches in this region of New Zealand.
Most of all, Father, help us to carry out the wishes of Yeshua our Lord. In his name, amen.
- Jeff Coleman